Di Immortales
by The Yellow Emperor
Summary: Buffy/Highlander Crossover. Buffy becomes Immortal, is trained by the oldest and most powerful of the Immortals.
1. Default Chapter

Buffy, Giles, Xander, Willow, Oz, and Anya are all property of the producers of Buffy the Vampire Slayer  
Duncan MacLeod, Joe Dawson, Amanda, and Methos are property of the producers of Highlander  
Huang Di/Wu Caine and Chang are mine  
  
PROLOUGE  
  
  
The Slayer cruised the streets and dark graveyards of her town, trolling for vampires. To them, she was their greatest enemy, the Chosen One, Buffy Summers. Born with the strength and instincts necessary to fight the legions of evil. But she was not prepared for what she would meet this night.  
Her Slayer sense warned her of an approaching evil being. Aha! She thought, Some newbie vamp is trying to be clever, sneaking up behind me. Well he's in for a surprise. She turned around, drawing a stake, prepared to smite whatever vampire was lurking in the shadows - and gasped in pain as she was met with three feet of steel in the gut. Since when do vamps use swords! Was her first thought. She looked into the face of her assailant, it was not the face of a demon, rather a human. "Why?" she croaked.  
"Your Quickening must be prepared, Slayer. For Chang." Even as she was dying from the wound in her stomach, she managed to stab the man in the arm with her stake. "ARRGH!" he howled in pain. Pulling out a taser, he prepared to shock her directly into unconsciousness. Suddenly, something sliced through the air, and the man was suddenly sans left arm. Turning to meet this new threat, Buffy's assailant's eyes widened in shock. "Wu Caine, you must not interfere," he hissed through his teeth. Buffy caught a glimpse of this man, Wu, before the other man pulled his sword out of her and she fell to the ground, gasping in pain. From the ground, she saw the two men face off at each other.  
"She is not one of us, yet. Chang will not have the Slayer's Quickening," her rescuer said. "Not another. You go back to him now, and tell him that she is under my protection." Quickening? Wondered Buffy.  
"You don't understand do you, Wu? Chang is already more powerful than you."  
"I doubt that very much. It would take at least two more Slayer's Quickenings before he can defeat me. But if he thinks he can get her from me, tell him to come here. We'll finish it. Run along now, your life is in mortal peril." The man turned as if he was going to leave, but then turned again and charged at Wu. Wu moved his blade so fast through the air that it hummed, and the man found himself holding half a sword. "I do not play with you. Go...NOW!" The man turned and fled. Turning to Buffy, Wu said, "We will meet again soon Slayer, at which time you will learn a great deal." She slipped into unconsciousness.  
  
Upon awaking, Buffy found herself in her bedroom. It was early afternoon, and a Saturday. Sitting up straight, she felt no trace of the pain she would have assumed feeling after being run through with a sword. Looking down, she also discovered no trace of a wound. At this point, her mind was reeling. After dismissing it to her accelerated Slayer healing powers, she headed to Giles's place to ask him about the man she had seen.  
  
"Giles, what do know about demons, or otherwise, who fight each other with swords?"  
Giles said, "Well I have read legends of a race of humans who can live forever, and only die if their head is cut off. They go around fighting each other with swords, to win the Prize."  
"What's the Prize?"  
"The legends don't say. Why do you ask?"  
"No reason.  
  
Later, on patrol, Buffy found herself face to face with the man, Wu Caine. Drawing her stake, she demanded answers.  
"Buffy, I am what is known as an Immortal. We live forever, healing from all injuries and diseases, unless our heads are removed from our bodies. We engage in combat with other Immortals, the winner taking his opponent's Quickening, his life force, the sum total of all the Immortal's knowledge and power. At the end, there will be one Immortal left, and that Immortal will have all the knowledge and experience of all the Immortals who ever lived, enough power to rule humanity forever."  
Buffy just stared incredulously, "So are you born this way?"  
"No. For one to become an Immortal, he or she must first be killed. Like you were," he finished grinning.  
Buffy was struck speechless. "But...I...You mean I'm immortal now?!"  
"Yes. That is why I have sought you out. To protect you and train you, so that you will live an extraordinarily long time, and do great good. You are only the seventh Immortal Slayer in history. My mortal enemy, Chang, killed the other six and took their Quickenings."  
"So I can't die. This is SO cool!" Buffy was practically hopping with joy. Stopping she asked, "How old are you anyway?"  
"I thought you'd never ask. A long time ago, I was known as Huang Di, the Yellow Emperor. I was one of the three founders of civilization in China. I am merely a legend now. That was some seven thousand years ago, and was my first major appearance. I am actually close to ten thousand years old. I am - despite what they say about my student, Methos - the oldest of us all."  



	2. Chapter 1

  
Same disclaimers as before. A little element of Crouching Tiger thrown in.  
A short fight scene for Chapter 1. More coming very soon : )  
  
CHAPTER 1  
  
"So what do we do now?" asked Buffy Summers, the Slayer, to Wu Caine, also known as   
Huang Di, the oldest of all the Immortals. They were walking down the dark street, lit by   
only a few street lamps.  
"Well, at the very least you'll have to introduce me to your Watcher. Then we'll begin   
your training," he said with a smile.  
"Training for what?"  
"You must be prepared for the coming battle. Immortality is no easy thing. In my   
considerably long life I have accquired a great many enemies, not many of whom are still   
alive," he said with a little chuckle. "The greatest of my enemies, Chang, will stop at   
nothing to get to you."  
"Why me? Why am I always the one who everyone wants to kill?"  
"Fate, I suppose. The Quickening of an Immortal Slayer is very powerful. If Chang takes   
yours, he will become powerful enough to almost be able to defeat me in fair combat. He   
will be here soon, and he won't come alone. You will have to fight one of his men, while   
I deal with him. You must be able to win. An Immortal Slayer who survives Chang and   
lives for a long time would be a very powerful force on the side of good."  
"You keep making references to how powerful you are, but I haven't seen all that much to   
support it. How about a demonstration?" she said with a incredulous look on her face.  
"What did you have in mind?"  
"There's a gang of vampires over there," she pointed to where five figures were standing   
near a park bench.  
Caine grinned, "Watch and learn." When he had neared them, the leader of the pack   
looked up. "Well, well, a free meal."  
"Not tonight, my friend. Your ass is mine," Caine said, standing there calmly.  
The vampire chuckled and said, "Get him, Brutus." A huge vampire, maybe 290 pounds,   
charged Wu. "Lesson One. Use your opponent's momentum against him." Sidestepping   
the charge, Caine slapped the bulky demon on the back with the back of his right hand,   
sending him sprawling 5 feet away. A second vampire walked up, this one a little more   
cautious. "Lesson Two. Do not simply stop force," the vampire threw a right hook. Caine   
seemed to push and turn the arm back into the attacker, and pushed. The would be boxer   
flew back as if hit by a 300 pound linebacker moving at full speed. "Redirect it, and apply   
force of your own," Caine continued. The third attacker seemed reluctant to throw a   
punch. "Lesson Three. When you must use force, do so." He threw a backfist towards his   
opponent's chest, which was just barely blocked, and followed it up by palming the back   
of his fist, channeling the energy into the vampire, sending him flying. The fourth had by   
now procured a steel pipe and was swinging it menacingly. "Lesson Four. Don't hesitate   
to use a weapon if you must." From the folds of his coat, Caine drew his sword. Three   
feet of extraordinarily thin metal, the blade seemed to glow with its own inner light. In   
one swift motion, Caine moved the sword through the air and the vampire, sans head,   
disintegrated. Replacing his sword, the warrior went over to where Buffy was standing,   
eyes wide with admiration and disbelief.  
"Will you teach me how to be as skilled as you?"   
"I will. And who knows, in several thousand years you may even surpass the Old Man   
himself," Caine answered with a grin.  



	3. Chapter 2

"Giles, I'd like you to meet Wu Caine. He's an Immortal," Buffy said smiling.

"An...an...Immortal. Really?" stuttered Giles.

"Yes, pleased to meet you," said Caine, extending his hand.

"So, um, how old are you?"

"I'm some thirty-seven hundred years old," smiled the Immortal, who in actuality was close to ten thousand. However, he didn't want every one knowing that he was the oldest of all the Immortals, and had also been Huang Di, one of the three legendary founders of civilization in China.

"Th...thirty-seven thousand," stammered Giles in disbelief. "So why have you come here."

"For the last thousand, I have taken it upon myself to train the Slayer of the time, so that she will be better prepared to fight the forces of evil."

"Ahh, then you are the Immortal mentioned in the Watcher books."

"I suppose. Anyway, I am here to train Buffy. She will have the benefit of my considerable experience."

"May I speak with Buffy, privately?"

"Of course." Giles took Buffy to one side. "Buffy, are you sure we can trust him?"  
"Oh yeah. If he had wanted to kill me he would have done it by now. Besides, you should have seen him kill four vamps himself in the park. It was truly awesome."

"Well, alright then. But I want you to keep in touch."

"Don't worry, Giles. He has a house here in Sunnydale. You can even come by and watch," Buffy said cheerfully.

"I just might do that."

"Before you learn how to fight with the sword, you must learn to fight with your body," Caine said. They were in the backyard of Caine's house. "You must learn to feel the flow of the world around you. Every force of nature can be used as your ally. The wind, the curve of the earth. The reason I seem to move with such speed is that, over the millennia, I have mastered the art of quickening my perceptions. Meaning, I can effectively slow down what is happening around myself, at least to my senses, giving me more time to react. Mind you, it's not much of a difference, but it counts. Now, let me see what you already know. Hit me, if you can."

Buffy went into a series of attacks, each with her full Slayer strength and speed. Not one got through. Caine seemed to move like fluid, effortlessly blocking her attacks. Suddenly, he moved even faster, and she found herself looking up at the sky. After helping her up, Caine said, "Real speed comes without effort. Now, like this."

Later that night, Buffy was sitting with her friends in Giles's house. Caine was there as well, having been introduced to the entire Scooby Gang. Giles had asked him to tell them a little more about his life. "Well, I've been a warrior pretty much all of my life. For the first couple of centuries, I was a legendary warrior in China. I was asked by rulers and farmers alike to train them and their children. After that, I traveled to Rome, where I was a member of the Roman Legions. I fought for the British, against the British. I fought the Japanese in World War II. I was a hitman for a while in the 80s. But recently, I've gotten tired of that lifestyle. I'll probably pick it up again in another hundred years. I have done and seen many things that I am not proud of. Being Immortal isn't as fun as it seems. While you get to see alot, most Immortals can't escape the killing." The room was silent for a moment while the friends thought about what a killer they had in their midst. Eventually it was Xander who spoke up, "How about the women? You must have had lots of girls." The other members of the gang groaned. Caine chuckled and said, "I've been married seven times. Four times to a mortal. Believe me, it's not a fun thing seeing your lover grow old and die, while you stay the same forever. But yes, I have had many women over the millennia. In fact, one time I-" he was cut off by his cell phone. "One moment, please." He got up and went to the kitchen. "Caine here." "Caine, it's Joe," said the voice at the other end. "Listen, Chang is headed your way. Estimate two days until he gets there."

"How many with him?"

"Five I'm told. Who do you want?"

"Get Connor and Duncan. Tell Duncan to bring Methos and another Immortal with him."

"Can do. Joe out." He hung up. Buffy walked into the kitchen and saw the far away look on Caine's face. "Caine, what is it?"

"Chang is on his way. It will soon be time for our Reckoning."


End file.
